READING PASSAGE 3
You should spend about 20 minutes on Questions 27-40, which are based on Reading
Passage 3 on pages 10 and 11.
The Robbers Cave Study
A review of a famous study into group behaviour
Group self-centredness seems to occur
the minute people are divided into
groups. It doesn’t matter what the group
is, or on what basis it was formed, we
perceive the group we belong to as
being superior to other groups and we
develop an ‘in-group’ bias.
Probably one of the most famous
pieces of research looking at group
behaviour was a field study conducted
by Sherif in 1956. This study involved 22
boys aged between 11 and 12, who
were divided into two groups. The
groups were roughly matched in terms
of sporting ability, camping experience
and general popularity among their
peers. Their parents were told that they
were going to a three-week summer
camp to see how well they would work
alongside other boys when put into
different teams. The parents were also
told that the boys would not be allowed
to be visited during that time, but would
be able to go home if they wanted to. It
was intended that the data for the study
would be collected by participant
observers.
At first, neither set of boys knew of
the existence of the other set. They were
taken to their respective campsites,
which were located on a 200-acre,
densely wooded area in Robbers Cave
State Park, Oklahoma. The first week
was spent doing a variety of activities,
such as pitching tents and cooking.
During this week, the two groups
seemed to develop different group
norms, one group being more ‘tough’
than the other, from which two boys
went home early, as they were
homesick. The groups were given a set
of caps and t-shirts, and gave
themselves names: the ‘Eagles’ and the
‘Rattlers’ (the latter being the tougher
group).
At the end of the first week, they
became aware of each other’s existence
by finding litter left by the other group or
overhearing voices. Sherif noticed that
already the groups had started to refer
to the other group as ‘them’ and their
group as ‘us’. This marked the beginning
of phase two of the experiment.
The groups were told that they were
going to take part in a ‘Grand
Tournament’, which involved 10 different
sporting events, and they were shown
the prizes for winning. The tournament
was also to include in the final scores
points which would be awarded for other
activities, such as how tidy the cabins
were kept. These scores were displayed
on big scoreboards in what now became
a joint hall where the two groups ate
their meals together. This was
necessary so the two groups would think
they were on almost equal scores in the
time leading up to the final event, which
would increase the sense of competition.
Needless to say, these scores were
manipulated by the experimenters.
 In order to check how high the levels resulted in food fights; the films were
of group self-centredness were in the enjoyed by both groups sitting totally
groups at this time, a number of tasks apart from each other.
were set up which involved the groups
The other situations, where the
rating their own members and members
groups had to work for common goals,
of the other group. Each time group
had a much better outcome. These
members rated the boys in their own
included raising money to go and see a
group much better at the tasks than the
film and solving problems, such as one
other boys, even though there was no
with the water supply. The final common
real difference between them. They
goal was a visit by truck to Cedar Lake
were also asked to rate all others in
to camp there before the end of the
terms of how desirable they were as
holiday. In this situation, although both
friends, and 93 per cent of friendship
groups travelled in separate trucks,
preferences were in-group preferences.
another problem-solving situation arose
When the tournament started, the first when one of the trucks became stuck.
game was basketball. The group that All the boys joined in, using one of the
was thought to be less tough lost the tug-of-war ropes to help move it. At this
game and claimed that they had lost point the group boundaries were
only because the other group were beginning to disappear. On the final day,
bigger and older than they were. The when they were due to return home, the
Eagles won the next ball game and then boys themselves suggested that they
were said to be cheating in the tug-of- travel in one bus and sat in friendship
war. This resulted in visits by both groups rather than as Eagles and
groups to each other’s cabins over the Rattlers.
course of the next 24 hours, where they
ripped the mosquito nets, turned over
the beds and generally made a mess.
The Eagles devised a new weapon in
the conflict which consisted of ‘rocks in
socks’ – and so it went on. Eventually,
the Eagles won the tournament (with
some help from the experimenters) and
it was time for phase three to begin.
Research has suggested that the best
way to reduce group conflict is by non-
competitive contact. This required two
conditions: that the groups had equal
status and that they had a common goal
to work towards. This was exactly what
Sherif engineered. There were actually
seven situations organised which gave
the groups equal status contact; these
were things like having meats together
or watching films together. The meals
Questions 27 and 28
Choose TWO letters, A-F.
Write the correct letters in boxes 27 and 28 on your answer sheet.
Which TWO of the following statements about the boys who took part in the study are
made by the writer?
A They had approximately the same number of friends.
B Some of their parents helped to set up the camp.
C They selected the group that they wanted to be in.
D They were responsible for bringing their own tents.
E They received clothes that identified the group they belonged to.
F Some of them were criticised for dropping litter.

Questions 29 – 34
Complete the summary below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 29-34 on your answer sheet.

The Grand Tournament

The Grand Tournament marked the second part of Sherifs experiment. It included a
range of 29 …………….. that each team would compete in, and the allocation of extra
points for things like cleaning cabins.
To increase the competitive element of the tournament, the organisers used
30 …………….. in the dining hall. They also made sure that the boys were under the
impression that their scores were nearly 31 ……………… as the tournament neared its
end.
The 32 ……………. , who were thought to be the tougher group, won the first ball
game and lost the second. In other games there were accusations of 33 …………….. .
During the next day, various instances of conflict occurred within the boys’ cabins.
Eventually, the tournament was won by the group that was considered to be
34 ………………. – the Eagles.

Questions 35 – 38
Complete the table below.
Choose NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 35-38 on your answer sheet.

Phase 3: Non-competitive contact

Conditions Type of situation Result
Equal status a) eating 35 ………………
b) 36 …………….. enjoyed them but were not
sitting together
A 37 ……………… a) raising money
b) 38 …………….. , e.g. friendship groups
stuck truck

Questions 39 and 40
Choose TWO letters, A-F.
Write the correct letters in boxes 39 and 40 on your answer sheet.
According to the passage, which TWO of the following statements are true of the
experimenters who ran the study?
A They collected their data from secret observation posts.
B They encouraged the boys to use the terms ‘them’ and ‘us’.
C They used a rating exercise to assess the amount of in-group bias.
D They took steps to avoid personal injury among the boys.
E They secretly altered some of the results of the tournament.
F They joined in with the non-competitive activities.